Paleolithic

PALEOLITHIC

Paleolithic: Paleo (ancient), Lithic (stone) that is: The Stone Age. It is the initial and longest period of the evolution of humanity.

It begins from the origin of Humanity until the invention of agriculture, approximately 10,000 years ago.

It is characterized by the use of carved stone instruments and a destructive economy based on hunting, fishing and gathering food plants.

When we refer to the economy as destructive, it is because humans do not replace what they take from nature, so they had to move to another place to get it again.

The utensils and weapons used were made of flint, a hard stone from which if you strike hard, very sharp edges are obtained.

Throughout the entire Paleolithic the techniques were improving and arrowheads, bows, hooks, piercers, harpoons, sewing needles, hand axes, propellers, among others, were used.

It must be remembered that during a large part of the Paleolithic period, humans lived in the times of the ice ages, therefore it was necessary to take refuge in caves to protect themselves from the cold and humidity along with animal hides and branches.

Possibly they also built shelters made with hides and / or branches outdoors, especially used when they needed to move from one place to another in search of food, so they were easy to abandon.

Not being able to produce their food, they caused the continuous movement of the groups, so they led a nomadic life, frequently moving from one side to the other to achieve their subsistence.

Taking into account the climate and food shortages, it follows that the groups of people were not very large, perhaps between 15 to 20 people, enough to organize themselves in hunting and defense. These bands of hunters are called hordes.

It is not known with certainty if they recognized an authority within the group, perhaps they existed in important moments such as in moments of hunting or defense, that is to say that they were a circumstantial authority, once the task was completed that authority disappeared.

Those are conclusions that are drawn with the archaeological findings of the so-called "batons of command".

The use of fire meant a great advance in the fight for survival, since it was possible to expel the beasts from the caves, generate heat, light and cook food.

It is not known if the fire was taken from natural fires, such as lightning struck in a storm, being able to keep its coals, or if they already knew how to produce it.

It is believed that sheltered from fire, in the caverns that sheltered them from the cold, this is when the first language of humanity began to be outlined.

Phonetic communication and articulated language must have been fundamental for group life, given the need to transmit to other generations the techniques of stone carving, lighting fires, among many other things.

As for the beliefs in the Paleolithic, Man must have been afraid of the phenomena of nature since he did not understand what they were or how they were produced, the rain, the storm, the lightning, represented a mystery.

Faced with this fear of the unknown, Man used amulets or other objects in which the spirits would reside to protect them from that hostile world.

Life and death also represented a mystery to them, and given the care when burying their dead, placed in a sleeping position (fetal), placing offerings, flowers, food, tools, jewelry and coloring the body with reddish dust. All this indicates in the belief of an afterlife, that is, in a life after death.

It is very difficult to know what explanations were given of the world, but some very important testimonies remain, such as the graves, paintings on the walls of caves, statuettes of animals and humans.

Humanity in this period managed to create things that we currently give artistic value to, which is why they are classified as movable art, they were small objects that could be easily transported, they could be made of stone, wood, bones, ivory. Most of the stone figures found are female representations, known as Venus, with very marked female sexual features (large breasts and hips). They are generally thought to represent fertility cults.

The most famous is the one known as Venus of Willendorf, found in Austria in 1908. This statuette is 11 cm high and 5.7 wide and 4.5 thick. It is estimated to be between 25,000 and 28,000 years old.

There is also rock art, represented by the paintings on the inner walls of the caves, with innumerable representations mainly of animals, also plants and other objects.

It is usually known as magical art, since those in charge of the drawings painted what they wanted to happen in reality. That is why so many animals were drawn, like mammoths or serfs, that they planned to be able to hunt for food.

The realism of their representations never ceases to amaze us. One of the caves with the most famous and impressive paintings are those of the Altamira Cave, in Spain, with more than 35,000 years old.

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